Orlando Magic judging preseason by steady progress

The Orlando Magic were happy with parts of their first preseason game but saw plenty to work on. They are judging their progress on how quickly they improve.

Coach Steve Clifford was not going to overreact to one preseason game. Veteran players like Nikola Vucevic were not going to either. In his estimation, Monday’s 120-114 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers went better than they could expect judging by the amount of new information they had to put out on the floor.

There were plenty of positives to take away from the game. The team kept its turnovers down and assisted on 27 of 45 field goal makes. That is likely to be a formula for some success for this team offensively.

Of course, there was plenty to work on.

Preseason game number two is due up Friday against Brazilian team Flamengo. The team is still keeping its focus on itself — worrying less about the opponent which features former NBA players Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa — and getting better.

The game Friday will mean the team is approaching the midpoint of the preseason schedule and there are now two weeks until the regular season opener. Progress through these games is not judged by a score or any statistical measure, but by whether the team is getting better each time out and with each practice.

That message has not changed.

"“The biggest thing is are we practicing in a way and playing in the five exhibition games that we are playing better? To me, that’s the whole key to this thing anyway,” Clifford said. “You are going to look and some teams will get off to good starts and others won’t. You have to keep getting better in all aspects of the game. That’s what allows you to play consistently and that all starts with the approach you have in training camp.”"

Clifford certainly saw things he wanted to improve from Monday’s game.

Philadelphia went to the line for 36 free throw attempts and gave up 13 offensive rebounds, many early on in the game. Clifford said defense usually comes quicker than offense, in some respects that part is concerning.

Nikola Vucevic said the team worked on these things throughout practice the last two days. It is something that individual players can focus on and get better positioning to correct. These were largely correctible mistakes the team made.

Clifford said the team looked a bit better and more organized defensively in practice Wednesday.

So the task for the next game is to get a little bit better in those areas.

"“I think the sets he has put in and the way he wants us to play fits this team,” Vucevic said. “We obviously haven’t put our whole offense in. There is still a lot of things to do there. His main focus with us is to move the ball, always cut, always be active, never stand around, play with the pass. Those are little things you have to establish early on and you build on.”"

Vucevic added that he felt the first six minutes for him was a bit rough as he got his legs back under him. But once the game started to get going, he said he felt much more comfortable

Orlando came out largely unscathed with Jonathan Isaac suffering what team officials are describing as a mild ankle sprain. Jonathan Isaac participated in the team’s open practice Tuesday and the non-contact portions of Wednesday’s practice. Clifford said he did not want to let injuries linger at this point of the season.

The Magic are proceeding cautiously with Isaac while still making sure he gets in work during practices. They just do not want to aggravate the injury recognizing preseason for what it is.

There is still a newness implementing what the coaching staff wants to see. And everyone is still adjusting to it. The team is still establishing its new habits to build on.

Each exhibition game remains an extension of practice and a chance to get better.

Orlando Magic

But the team also may begin experimenting some more with lineups.

Especially with Jonathan Isaac out of the lineup, there is the chance for a player like Jarell Martin to get more minutes. And Clifford said he experimented with playing Nikola Vucevic and Mohamed Bamba together in practice for the first time.

The two seemed to react positively to it.

"“I liked a lot of it. A lot to build on and they liked it you could tell,” Clifford said. “They are both really smart. We are super skilled, super smart and super huge. There are still teams who play two in and three out. It can still be done. I don’t know how many minutes, but it is something we will look at.”"

There is still a lot to work on as Clifford pieces his team together. Trying these things out are part of the equation for sure.

But so too is making sure the team gets the basic things down. Clifford has to see the Magic improve with their defensive discipline most of all as the season inches closer.

Jarell Martin is a good example of this. He is in line to fill in some more minutes with Isaac likely missing out a few games and practices. It simply is too difficult to do this when Martin fouls out in 12 minutes of play.

Fouling was a problem for everyone in the first game. One the team is still working to sort out. But an expected problem for the first preseason game.

The Magic are trying to round themselves into form.